Over the summer, I marked one year living in Buffalo, a place I moved to escape the ways of the South (sticky weather, gross politics) and where I knew no one.
I’m lucky to say I’ve met so many people in this one year, but it’s led to a lot of sharing about my past. Sometimes, I feel like I’ve put it out of my brain entirely.
This summer, I was at a birthday party, and someone asked me how long I’d been writing. I almost answered, “My entire life!” because that’s certainly what I was put here to do, but I said what’s on my resume: “Uh, 20 years?”
She was shocked, saying I don’t look like I’ve done much of anything for 20 years (thanks, I think?), but the truth is, I’ve been writing and creating whatever I can think of for much longer.
High school journalism: where it began
As a child, I made magazines and came up with stories and movie ideas all the time. But I wasn’t thinking much of it, of course. I also played with dolls, loved coloring (I still do), and riding my bike.
I generally liked school, but middle school was a challenge. I grew up in Columbus, Indiana (pop. ~52,000), and middle school (7th and 8th grade) is when you get a locker, switch rooms for classes, and dress for gym (a nightmare).
Most, if not all, of my 6th-grade classmates went to the other middle school. At this new school, I struggled to make friends and get decent grades. I didn’t do anything else until 8th grade, when I joined the dance team.
But in high school, I jumped in and joined everything. I wanted to take photos or design for the yearbook, but you had to take (and pass) a journalism class to do that. So, I signed up.
Kim Green taught the class, a journalism wizard (though I didn’t know it then); it’s amazing to think that a high school in middle Indiana offered such an opportunity.
The class covered journalism basics, including the inverted pyramid, AP style, and the ins and outs of the First Amendment. And yes, we did watch “All the President’s Men.”
We learned about the yearbook and the school newspaper, “The Triangle,” which students created entirely.
I joined the class for non-writing purposes, but I was hooked. I wanted to join the newspaper staff immediately.
So, I did. Staff members set aside time to work on the paper during one class each day, but many of us came in early or stayed late. It was my first taste of a labor of love.
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